Another reason I’d struggle being a published author: I feel deeply uncomfortable being read. I soon grow paranoid, wondering what people’s intentions are. I suspect I shall just become the equivalent of the amateur artist, who hangs their paintings on their own walls alone. In my case, my writing will grace only my bookshelves, read …
Reading research literature, I get a bit down reflecting on a common observation: It is a clinical observation that not only do many men with the condition have problems with accessing the job market and keeping a job, but already in the classroom many boys struggle. This seems to translate to affected socioeconomic status. For …
I remember the first time I learned that treating others with kindness — or as you’d like to be treated — doesn’t mean they will reciprocate. That was on a team building activity camp, just after starting in senior school, aged eleven. Hanging back from joining in with the riotous behaviour of my classmates, I …
The whisperer will keep on whispering into our hearts, even after we have resolved to forgive, calling us back to that heedless rancour. Yes, and this evening it is back with a vengeance, reminding me of all I know to be true but have chosen to doubt for the sake of making peace. “They wronged …
Today I have what I can only describe as a mental block. My task is simple: some extremely straight forward development work. No, not even that: just some minor changes requested ahead of a meeting of bigwigs later in the week. Work which ordinarily would take me about half an to complete at most. But …
Despite international students contributing over £40 billion to the UK economy, the British government continues to play to the populist agenda, problematising migration for political gain. Though it is well known that sectors such as health, social care and education are having to actively recruit from overseas to overcome critical deficits in the indigenous labour …
A study conducted by the University of York in 2020 concluded that attending a private school is of little benefit and actually has a negative impact on some aspects of development, with students more likely to experience bullying than those attending state schools. Surprising? In a way, because many parents who send their children to …
It’s twenty years since we got rid of our credit cards. Prior to this, while we utilised them, we always paid off our balance as soon is it was due, so as not to pay a penny of interest. In the years before the 2008 financial crash, we were constantly in receipt of invitations to …
If only I had been content tending my garden.
I doubt I will ever publish the novel that absorbed all my time two years ago. Every time I contemplate it again, it causes me hypertension. No, it’s worse than that: these days the mere thought of it makes me nearly vomit. An extreme case of writer’s doubt, or something deeper? A rhetorical question. If …
It is distasteful to me that as a nation we can prioritise £160 million for a state funeral, £100 million for a coronation and billions for military misadventures, but we cannot provide decent affordable housing. Wandering with a friend yesterday, we glimpsed through the window of an estate agents. What we saw was rather shocking. …
Would you ever know the influence you’ve had on another? Do you think you have to be a social media influencer with a reach of millions, or a pop star with adoring fans, or a world leader recognised all over? Perhaps that’s true for some, but often those that influence us most happen to be …
Yes, we are Europeans too.
The danger with doing a good job of anything is that you will only be asked to do more. If that’s your trade and it helps you attract more business, all good. But if it’s just a task you want to get out of the way and see the back of, not so much. Case …
